newbie question!!! just bought a dvr, what next?

[duntovlives 0]

hello- im not sure if this is in the correct spot on the forum for this question or not. but, i know one thing, if a person wants good advice, a forum is the best place to go, so here i am.

i recently purchased a DVR-9n-120 unit with HD from a friend who purchased it on line from Supercircuits http://www.supercircuits.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=4717. i am trying to figure out what cameras/lenses/housings/mounts/monitor and so on i need. or, what would work/be best. i have examined the manual that came with the unit, although, it seems all but worthless in this aspect. at their site, there is little help also. i guess the biggest prob is that there are SO many choices!!!!!! good grief!!!!! i need a cam inside, and 2 outside(at least). i am just looking for a basic set up, but something that works decent.

reading the manual, i cant even decide if the unit is color or not. the guy i got it from has his up and going w/ a b/w monitor, but it looks as if it is a color unit according to the site. although, the connections on the unit do not. there is only one connection for the monitor (looks like the color ones have 3 connects or more? correct?)

i am certain that most of you are tired of ignorance from peep like me...but, i am begging for some direction!

any suggestions? i dont even know what questions to ask@#$#@&!

thanks for your time- bk

[rory 0]

Hi and Welcome

 

It looks like the AvTech 9 channel Color DVR.

http://www.avtech.com.tw/english/product_13_776.htm

 

There are 2 models, one with LAN one without, doesnt say it has it on that link, but you would know by looking at the back of it, if it has a ethernet socket.

 

Its what we call a budget DVR, I have the 4 channel here. It works great and doesnt crash, great local quality on the monitor, and better if you have the one with LAN so you can remotely view it.

 

So it is color and works with up to 9 cameras, once they are normal CCTV cameras with BNC, or RCA using a BNC-RCA adaptor.

 

Whats your budget ... whats the lighting like outside .. ?

 

Rory

[duntovlives 0]

cool! that is the unit i have! mine came in a "plain" wrapper, so i wasnt able to tell who it was made by. as far as lighting, it is fair. there are a number of street lights, and i also have motion lights that work well. even at that, i am assuming that without actually viewing them in my situation it might be hard to tell how well they would work? true?

as far as a budget goes, well... i guess ima really not sure. i would rather spend more money and be happy as opposed to spending less and being pissed with the performance. make sense?

i guess i was kinda hopin to spend about 100 bucks or so each on the outside cams. (or less, ya know?)

my unit does have the LAN connection. so, i would like to be able to view online later.

whats up with the single monitor connection? will a color monitor connect with a single connect? can i use an old pc monitor w/ bnc connect? or, would it be better (or possible/cost effective) to run it through my pc?

 

thanks a ton for the reply! it has brought some "darkness" to "light" so to speak!!!!!!

thanks-bk

[rory 0]

Its a stand alone embedded DVR, requires a CCTV Monitor or a TV or any Monitor with AV input.

 

Rory

[duntovlives 0]

i c...thanks for all the info. i really appriciate it!! i will be making camera purchases and a monitor purchase asap... cant wait to get it goin!!! thanks again for da help...brian

[rory 0]

Just FYI a CCTV (CRT) monitor will be the best quality, then a TV. The LCDs will be not very good quality, but are nice for space saving, or large screens. If you need to view it on a bunch of TVs you could also get a RF Modulator and tie that into where the cable comes into your house and then set it to a channel.

[duntovlives 0]

i have an extra but older (4yrs, but works great)viewsonic 17crt that i used w/ my pc till recently.... will that work? i mean, will it connect? can i "adapt" the output on the dmr to the video input cable on the monitor? monitor just has the standard 15(or so) pin non-removable video input cable...

[rory 0]

You could get a VGA-RCA/BNC Convertor but the decent ones arent that cheap.

 

If you cant afford a CCTV Monitor, then best would be to just get a 13" or 19" Color TV and it will be better quality than converting it to VGA anyway. You would then just need a RCA cable, and an RCA-BNC convertor (RCA Female to BNC Male)

[duntovlives 0]

ahhhh.... ic.... that makes sense... sounds like good advice... i hate to look a gift horse in the the mouth, but i have another question... what would u recommend for cameras... i would like the outside camera to withstand weather and such (i like in the midwest us) with decent quality and a couple for the inside also with decent quality... can i get these for under a 100bucks a piece? also, do u think i need a heated/fan housing for the outside one? it will be mounted under an awning next to a motion light? what are your feelings about leds? is it possible to buy decent used ones? and i promise, this is my last post... well, at least that is my plan! gulp! thanks again-brian

[rory 0]

I dont know if the cheaper cameras will hold up in that mountain weather

 

Wizkid will, but they arent that cheap, more like mid range, over your listed budget though.

 

Basically for that price you listed, at retail cost it will be the cheapest cameras on the planet, and with cameras, you get what you pay for. More than likely in that price range it will be a CMOS Chip, instead of a CCD Chip, which are not very good quality at all. Plus you have to pay more for a decent housing.

 

Otherwise check out the Eclipse CCTV products for budget cameras, Provideo for mid range and a huge bullet camera selection, WizKid for mid-higher end with domes and IR etc., Extreme CCTV for higher end and much more $$ but made to withstand the most extreme conditions with 5 year warranties on most of their products (same company as WizKid but a different dept, wizKid are cheaper lenses and chips, and housing material but still decent and vandal resistant and weatherproof on most).

[rory 0]

oh yeah links. No shop links but im sure you can find them

 

http://www.eclipsecctv.com/

http://www.specotech.com/cart/products/?action=viewcat&catid=137

http://www.wizkidoptotech.com/

http://www.extremecctv.com

 

Also browse through the Security Camera and System Design forum for more ideas on cameras.

[duntovlives 0]

excellent... i can see that i should expect to spend more that i was origanally goin to....but, i would rather spend more, and be happy...than by cheap and be pissed everytime i looked at them. thanks again for the advice... u da man!!! ~brian

[qman 0]

To be on the honest side, no matter what type of camera you are looking at, for exterior duty and for the features that you need, you are looking anywhere between 150-600 per camera, that's depending on what you choose, the best thing is to research research research, and ask a lot of questions before you decide on what to buy.

 

As for interior, you need to decide what you want, I mean, Regular Box Cameras? Hidden? Bullets? Domes?

 

That would answer a lot of questions and that way, we can guide you to the best solution for your buck!

[cctv_down_under 0]

Do not feel bad about asking questions, that is how we all learnt this trade, I am sure we could not walk in and do your trade, this is a forum and that is what questions are for!